WhatsApp sales pitch: Buy now, new property launch in Dubai

“A new launch next week, affordable prices, 10 per cent down payment, 60 per cent payment post-handover. Call us to book your apartment.”

Cold calling is still prevalent in Dubai, but if you are no longer answering those ‘blacklisted’ calls, now expect a WhatsApp sales pitch.

A number of property brokerage firms in the UAE are using WhatsApp to send information on new project launches and offers, with some even updating clients on rental properties.

It has been reported that today there are over 800 million who use Facebook-acquired messenger application on a monthly basis with an additional one million that sign up for the app on a daily basis, making it one of the “hottest business markets available today.”

Anshuman Rai, a senior official working with a global bank, however, finds the frequent WhatsApp messages quite annoying.

“I have stopped picking calls from certain numbers which I know come from property agents. However, these agents are now sending me WhatsApp messages. I have blocked the numbers there as well,” he told ‘Emirates24|7’.

“It’s not mere the message to buy a property, but they send you the entire project details to payment plans. In fact, there is no name of any agent, but only a landline number is given.”

“One of the best ways today is to market the project through WhatsApp. You know that the message is delivered and there is a likelihood of the recipient at least checking the message,” states KS, a real estate agent, on conditions of anonymity.

“There are companies that provide such services… we use them as they have mobile numbers not just for the UAE but globally. But we do ensure that we don’t overdo it and so the messages are sent only once or twice in a month,” he asserts.

This website had reported earlier that if you are bombarded with unsolicited calls or SMSes, you can file a complaint with Dubai’s Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera).

“A new regulatory article has been introduced by us that covers telemarketing. We encourage anyone who has a complaint in this regard to contact us and request to speak with the Inspection Department,” Yousif Al Hashimi, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Rera, had told this website.

The article states real estate brokers are not allowed to make either telemarketing phone calls or send telemarketing messages to property owners who have not registered their properties for sale or rent in the real estate offices using the official templates.